Health Technology and Medical Devices Vulnerable to Cyber Attack

The Royal Academy of Engineering has issued a report warning that health technology and medical devices could be vulnerable to cyber attack.

Evgeny Chereshnev, CEO at Biolink.Tech, said: "When it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT), the risks are there. Almost all types of devices when hacked can turn out to be lethal to users. Pacemakers, and artificial hearts with cybernetic elements, are often connected to external servers for software updates and data exchange purposes.

"When these devices are hacked, people literally can die. The same goes for wireless insulin pumps that automatically inject insulin into people's bodies. A hacker can break into these pumps and give a lethal dose of insulin, thus killing that person yet avoiding punishment as there is currently no such law as "kill via internet". The case with insulin pumps has been demonstrated and proven.

"Any bionic implant, under-skin sensor or automated robot is a potential death trap when hacked. Cybersecurity is not something that is treated as a "by design" obligation, but it must be. Today, we have cars with seat belts and airbags for a reason, and no car can be sold in the EU without those. We have to take actions in order to do the same for cybersecurity mechanisms, used system architecture, encryption and other mandatory anti-hacking tools.

"In some cases, data accessed by third parties is actually more critical than hacking a device. For example, a person could have a deadly peanut allergy, which is kept confidential for a reason, and a digital trail of this person can be accessed publicly, or hacked and sold. Instead of reaching for a knife or a gun, a hacker could find out information about this deadly allergy and exploit it."